Currently. in cases involving terrorist acts occurring outside the United States. the Office of Victims of Crime (OVC) may only give supplemental grants to the States. for compensation of state residents. This formulation has not provided the intended help to victims of terrorism who reside overseas and do not have a clear State residence. even though they are U.S. citizens. It is of little assistance to the noncitizen victims employed by our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania. who also deserve our support and assistance. And due to an overly restrictive interpretation of the 1996 law by the Department of Justice. it has not provided help to the victims of the Lockerbie bombing and other victims of terrorist acts that occurred before the Justice for Victims of Terrorism Act went into effect. The current law has led to slower implementation than I intended when emergency aid is desperately needed. and has not enabled OVC to provide emergency relief. crisis response or training and technical assistance for victim service providers. as I intended.
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noncitizen